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Annual Report on the Activities of the Visegrad Group (Krakow, 1 June 2001)

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Annual Report on the Activities of the Visegrad Group (Krakow, 1 June 2001) ANNUAL REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE VISEGRAD GROUP (KRAKOW, 1 JUNE 2001) The Annual Report covering the Visegrad Group’s activities in the period since the summit meeting of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic held on 9 June 2000 in Prague was prepared by the Polish presidency. It is the second annual report on Visegrad co-operation following that published a year ago under the Czech presidency. Over the twelve months under review contacts and co-operation among the member countries of the Visegrad Group have been developing very well in all dimensions and at all levels. This happened along the guidelines and within the political framework for co- operation established by the Heads of Government at the 1999 and 2000 summit meetings. The year under the Polish Visegrad presidency was marked by intensive contacts and debates at high political level. Prime Ministers Jerzy Buzek, Mikulas Dzurinda, Viktor Orban and Milos Zeman met in this period several times in different settings to discuss European and regional issues remaining in the focus of the Group. Since the Prague summit they have met in October in Warsaw with the British Prime Minister, in the same month in Karlovy Vary in the Visegrad Group format, and twice in December in Bratislava with Prime Ministers of Slovenia and the Netherlands. The Heads of Government of the European Union member countries supported the objectives and efforts of the Visegrad countries undertaken with regard to an early EU accession. Presidents Vaclav Havel, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Ferenc Madl and Rudolf Schuster commemorated in January in the Polish town of Pszczyna the 10th anniversary of the Visegrad Declaration of 15 February 1991 marking the start of co-operation by the four nations meant to strengthen the integration processes in Europe. The Heads of State issued a joint declaration referring to the priorities of the Visegrad Group after a decade of transition in Europe. Political objectives of the co-operation focused over the past year on promotion of the Visegrad countries’ readiness for and contribution to European and Euroatlantic integration. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia worked together and assisted each other in preparations for European Union membership. The Visegrad member states of NATO supported the Slovak Republic’s efforts with regard to her membership in the Alliance. In the external dimension Visegrad states expressed their openness towards and preparedness to develop co-operation with third countries in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe. The image of the Visegrad area as of one characterized by political and economic stability was attempted to be reinforced through several forms of state-level, regional and trans-frontier co-operation reaching a number of local communities and several civil society segments. The means of Visegrad co-operation over the last year encompassed manifold intergovernmental, parliamentary and NGO level contacts. In addition to high-level meetings, they included expert consultations on European security and integration, regional issues and policy planning. In October 2000 a meeting of directors from the ministries of foreign affairs of the Visegrad countries responsible for non-European countries took place in Warsaw. In April 2001 the Visegrad Co-ordinators of the foreign ministries met in Warsaw and the European correspondents gathered in Prague. Exchange of information and co-operation projects covered several dimensions reaching from justice and home affairs to culture, science and education. Diplomatic and consular representatives of the Visegrad countries in third countries met and held consultations regularly. Ministries of foreign affairs and representatives of the four states to international organizations like OSCE, Council of Europe, United Nations met to consult and to elaborate common views and positions on political issues, including on European security affairs, whereas most of the EU statements and declarations were supported. Joint statements were issued by the foreign ministries of Visegrad countries on issues like the detention of Czech nationals in Cuba and the escalation of violence in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The priorities for Visegrad co-operation among competent ministries and institutions over the past year reflected primarily the need to get prepared for membership in the European Union. Thus, the common interest focused, inter alia, on so called third pillar issues, Schengen agreement requirements, organized crime prevention, transport infrastructure and border crossings, economic and environmental issues. The complementary dimensions of cultural co-operation, research and education, sports and youth exchange as well as local government and NGO networking have been strengthened significantly by the establishment of the International Visegrad Fund in June 2000. At the informal meeting of Prime Ministers in Karlovy Vary in October 2000 discussions on EU enlargement scenarios took place. The “big-bang” concept was criticized as contradicting the individual approach towards candidate countries, and emphasis was put on Visegrad solidarity in the negotiation process. The Heads of Government informed each other about accession strategies of their countries in light of the expected Nice summit of the EU. They also have reached agreement on developing certain areas of Visegrad co-operation. It was considered to establish new forms of co-operation in military industry (equipment modernization) and military training (Poland offered air force facilities). Upon Czech initiative ministers of transportation were requested to examine plans for improving transport infrastructure, and Hungary offered to companies from Visegrad countries easier access to road construction projects. Slovakia informed about the adoption by government of a strategy towards application of the Schengen regime which was supported by the other countries. Respective institutions were instructed to increase joint efforts in combating organized crime in the Visegrad area. Regional gas and oil supply strategies were discussed. As mentioned above the Visegrad Group remains open for partnership relations and co- operation with external partners. The Visegrad countries welcomed the interest of Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Ukraine, and most recently Austria in co-operation on different projects of common sense and good prospects in the context of EU enlargement. The Visegrad Group supports different forms of regional co-operation and good- neighbourly partnership as a helpful means in the process of European integration. Therefore, also the suggestion of the Prime Minister of Belgium regarding the examination of opportunities for co-operation between Visegrad and Benelux was taken up with interest. One more example of this kind of approach towards European integration was the proposal made at the December Netherlands–Visegrad Prime Ministers’ meeting by Mr. Buzek to consider the elaboration by the Visegrad four, the Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom and Sweden of a joint economic development programme until 2010. This initiative has been developed under the heading of “knowledge-based economy”. Upon Polish initiative consultations were held in Warsaw in autumn 2000 between the Visegrad and Ukrainian foreign ministries on policy planning, and between Visegrad and Slovenia on South-Eastern European issues. The Swedish presidency of the European Union invited the Visegrad countries in March 2001 to consultations at the foreign ministry in Stockholm on the EU’s Strategy for Ukraine. The meeting was followed by another one in Brussels. Deputy Ministers for Foreign Affairs met in April to discuss European integration and Visegrad co-operation issues and held jointly consultations on European security affairs at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Consultations of chief negotiators with the EU were held regularly in different formats. In the parliamentary dimension meetings of the Chairpersons of the Committees for Foreign Affairs, Defence and European Integration of the national parliaments take place regularly. The 6th and most recent was held in Warsaw in December 2000. The parliamentarians discussed and welcomed the EU Nice Summit decisions and called upon the North Atlantic Council to issue invitations, not later than at the Prague NATO summit in 2002, to Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania and any other candidate country meeting the membership criteria. At the October 2000 meeting of the Visegrad and Austrian Ministers of Interior in Papernicka (Slovakia) discussions focused on new mechanisms for co-operation in combating organized crime, information exchange on judicial reforms, forms of legal assistance to citizens, and the European Charter of Basic Rights. The Visegrad Group’s Ministers of Justice met, too, in November in Poland (Szczyrk) to discuss their co- operation on EU’s third pillar issues. Over the last year co-operation among border police, consular departments and ministries of interior of the Visegrad Group was developed, including on matters related to the requirements of the Schengen regime. In October 2000 (in Prague) and April 2001 (in Warsaw) two major conferences were held in the format of Visegrad and Romania upon invitations of Deputy Prime Ministers, with participation of departments of justice and interior at ministerial level and representatives of international organizations, devoted to human rights and national minorities’ protection in legal and administrative
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